Improvement in ventilating top-piece for tents



Volunteers, in camp near Jacinto, Tishoiningo .and I do hereby declarecthat the following is tion, I will proceed to describeits construction.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE."

JAMEs HIGGINS, or THE rum-mura naci-Meur ILLINOIS VOLUNTEERS.

` IMPROVEMENT IN VENTILATING TOP-PIECE FOR Specication forming part of Letters Pateht'No. 38,583, dated May 19, 1863.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JAMES HIGGINS, private' in the 'Fifty-ninth Regiment of Illinois -L county,'iu the State ot' Mississippi,have invented a new and Improved Apex for Tents a fulland exa-.ct description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

The nature of my invention consists ot' a hollow cylinder or pipe, having on its outside a double ilange,tlie outer rims of. which meet in snpporrfoteachother, the inner rims being. riveted or secured to the' cylinder. Two or more socket-staples are riveted or secured to the outside of the cylinder, the said'soeketstaples heilig intended to receive tenons hinged onto sockets, which sockets t onto top of the tent-poles. A hoop is to pass over the socket-staples, fitting or resting lon the flanges, and ,to the said hoop the canvas of l the tent -is` to be secured. The cylinders, iianges, socketLstaples, tenons, and sockets., for top of tent-poles,'and the hoops are to be made of sheet or plate iron, or other 'suitable material.

To enable others to make use of my inven- Figure-I, A B is a cylinder orpipe of sheetiron, or other suitable material; b b b b, dotted lines connecting outlines of cylinder which are hid by theian ges; aa a, small sockets attached to cylinder. E D are conical lianges, the outer rims supporting each other, 'the inner rims be'-' ing riveted or secured to the cylinder.

Fig. 2, C represents one' of the flanges before it is tted to the' cylinder. l

Fig. 3, a is one of the socket-staples for receivingtenon a', Fig. 4, to show its correspondence with a a a, Fig. 1. l

Fig. 4', E is a socket for the tent-pole, havingv a tenen, a', hinged at c d, c d representing the hinge connecting tenon and socket,

the latter being intended to receive the upper end-of the tent-poles, and the tenori ttin into socket-staples a a a, Fig. 1.

' Fig. 5, F is a hoop to which the canvas of the Atent isv secured. The hoop passes freely over the -socke tstaples and fits onto the Ilanges, beinginclined to the same angles as the flanges for that purpose.

' This 'apex is for square, many-sided, or

round tents, the pipeqvhen the 'tent is not round, conforming to the number of the sides ot' the tent. The pipe or cylinder acts as a ventilator in pleasant Weather, and as a ue for a stove-pipe in Winter.` The hoopiitring well out on the flanges, will prevent the heat from. injuring the canvas of the tent. The

sockets being fitted to appropriate poles, and the tenons being hinged to ,the sockets, admit of the poles supporting the tent from the 'sides-either inside or out-instead of the center. By -spreading the heels ofthe poles, the top of the tent will be lowered so that in wet Weather theanvas can shrink without ,ripping the bottom or pulling up the pegs. By

closing the heels the canvas can. be stretched out smooth. By using long poles in summer the tent can be elevated to any desired height.

for ventilation. The tent can be set up with-` out pegging, when the weather is not windy..

When pegged down it will require more than four times the force to blow it over than if there Was but one pole, the poles being at the sides and acting as braces,as well as supports.

lVliat IV claim is- The cylinder or pipe, in combination with 'the iianges, socket-staples, tenons, and sock- Rom?. B.M`ITGHELL, H. N. SNYDER. 

